Hikers - The Collection (Complete Box Set of 5 Books)

by Lauren Algeo

  ‘Your dad would be turning in his grave if he’d seen you with your legs spread like that,’ it ranted.

  Georgie’s head cocked to the side slightly to listen as her high heels clicked on the pavement.

  ‘On your back under some worthless man just like you were with Nick. You’re a cheap prostitute.’

  ‘I’m not,’ she protested meekly but she was too exhausted to put up a fight.

  She couldn’t deny that it was how she really felt inside. She’d always intended to leave but in the end she had been too weak. Months had turned into years and she’d never moved on. She made excuse after excuse to herself: it was the wrong time, she just needed to save more money, the job market wasn’t stable enough, she’d wait until the next new girl came along to distract Spence, she’d leave as soon as she turned eighteen and was legally an adult. There was a heavy sensation of depression in her gut that had been there for a long time. She’d wasted her life and there was no point in carrying on.

  During dark and lonely nights, Georgie often wondered if anyone had looked for her; if there had been an appeal all those years ago for a missing fourteen year old girl. She’d never seen anything but a small part of her hoped there had been – that someone had cared about her enough to try. She doubted it would have been her mother, most likely the school.

  Georgie sometimes found herself thinking about Lily – the woman who had raised her so lovingly only to turn so cold and bitter. A couple of years ago, Georgie had taken the train back to Hounslow during one of her trips away from the house. She’d walked to her old neighbourhood but hadn’t managed to summon the courage to turn down the road she’d lived on. She didn’t know if her mum had stayed in the house, or if Nick was still around. Had he left her mum once she was gone? Had he only ever entertained Lily because he knew she had a young daughter? She wasn’t sure how paedophiles’ minds worked.

  She’d stood at the end of the road for a while, staring vacantly ahead, then turned and left without going near the house. She didn’t know what she’d been intending to do if she had gone there; confronted her mum about how awful she’d been, screamed at Nick about how he’d ruined her life, attacked them both for what they’d done to her?

  The anger she’d once felt had faded over the years to leave a deep sadness. She’d deserved more from life, could have been so much more… but now it no longer matter. Now there was only the voice.

  Georgie walked around the town in a daze and let it consume her. She didn’t question where the voice had come from, or who it belonged to, she just listened. It was relentless in its whispering and there was no room for anything else. It was all too much – she just wanted it to stop. She needed peace.

  Georgie stopped outside Clapham Common tube station. It would be warm and quiet down in the tunnels. If she went in there then the voice would leave her alone, she was certain of it. In desperation, she took the escalator down to the platform and weaved through the commuters to get to the far end.

  She positioned her numb body next to the tunnel where the train would approach from and gazed at the inviting blackness. The voice was speaking so fast and loud now that she could just about make out the low rumbling of the approaching train.

  ‘You’re worthless,’ it hissed viciously. ‘No one would miss you if you were gone.’

  Georgie shifted her weight from foot to foot. Her hands were wringing constantly in front of her as she peered into the tunnel through glassy eyes.

  ‘You’re a disgusting bitch. What you do is filthy. Just end it all.’

  The train was coming fast. Georgie took a deep breath and lifted her foot to step over the platform edge. She would make the voice stop and finally get the peace she had been craving for so long. It was time.

  More books by Lauren Algeo:

  Survive The Night

  The aim is simple… survive the night.

  A collection of thirteen chilling tales, for those who love the dark and the feeling of unseen eyes upon their flesh.

  From beneath the bath to beyond the grave, uncover the deepest horrors of your mind. Whether it’s physical or psychological, human or supernatural, fear is all consuming.

  Turn down the lights and give yourself to the shadows.

  http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00OWWIF2C

  http://www.amazon.com/dp/1502339552

  Eye of Fear

  Bestseller on Amazon US

  'There's no turning back once you enter the eye of fear.'

  An anthology of thrilling and suspenseful tales of phobias, from award-winning and best-selling female authors.

  All proceeds from this book go to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

  http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01B9TDCTQ

  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B9TDCTQ

  The Perfect Date

  Tired of being single at thirty, journalist Kate Anderson is persuaded to join a dating site by her three best friends. After some disastrous dates she’s contacted by Damien Osgood, a man who seems too good to be true. Before she can find out if he is, her whole life is turned upside down and she’d thrown into a world where no one is who they should be. Can she keep her head without losing her heart? Could Jack Cartwright, an over-sixties ex-Sergeant, be her unlikely knight in shining armour?

  http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00DJV4C0G

  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DJV4C0G

  About Lauren Algeo

  Lauren Algeo (1985 - ) was born in England and currently lives in Kent with her husband. She graduated from Greenwich University with a First-class honours degree in Graphic Design and works for a design agency in west London.

  Lauren is the best-selling author of The Hikers Trilogy – a horror/sci-fi series about one man's struggle to defeat a family of mind-controlling assassins, and the people he meets along the way. Hikers Part One: Power was published in 2013, followed by Part Two: Passion in 2014 and Part Three: Politics in 2015. There are also two accompanying novels to the Hikers Trilogy - Brewer's Journal (published in 2014) and Georgie's Story (2015). Lauren has a collection of short horror stories, Survive The Night (2014), a standalone romance thriller, The Perfect Date (2013), and a story in charity anthology, Eye of Fear (2016).

  Lauren is obsessed with books and films, particularly anything horror-related. Her favourite author is Stephen King and she loves watching TV shows like American Horror Story and The Walking Dead. She has an Alaskan Shepherd, called Opie, who she blogs about at opieandus.wordpress.com.

  Social Media:

  Website: http://www.algeolawrence.com

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HikersTrilogy

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/LaurenAlgeo

  Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Lauren-Algeo/e/B00B3G69ZU

  Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lauren-Algeo/e/B00B3G69ZU

  Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6916388.Lauren_Algeo

  One last thing…

  Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this book, I’d be very grateful if you would post a short review on Amazon. Just click below to leave a review:

  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06X94VYLZ

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06X94VYLZ

  Thanks again for your support!